About the writer, director and producer: Monica Demes is an award winning Brazilian film director and screenwriter. She lived in Spain for 11 years where she worked directing comic sketches for mobile content producing on location in Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Spain and collaborated with artist Carmelo Calvo to direct her first animated and award winning short Halloween, which caught the attention of David Lynch. Lynch personally awarded Demes entry into the coveted MA in Film at the University MUM, in Fairfield, Iowa in 2014. Lilith's Awakening is her first feature film.

Where can I watch it? June 11, at 11.45pm, at the Chinese Theater, Dances with Films festival

Lilith's Awakening

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

Because I am a filmmaker and I can't imagine doing anything else.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

Because you like a good art film, you like to think and talk about a film with your friends, and you want to see something different.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

They mix. The personal theme lives in my heart and the universal theme lives in my mind. In the film they mingle, and I would say more, there’s a third element, that also mingles - the location. Every place we shoot has its own energy and will also connect with the heart and the mind in a particular way. In this film we went to shoot in the country side, in the winter, it was a vast and lonely landscapes…

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?

I developed the scrip using an intuitive method developed at MUM University using Transcendental Meditation. The film changed a lot from when it was on paper to when it became a final cut. You add new layers in each step.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

The usual word is haunting. People who watch it say the movie didn’t leave their heads for some days. They also talk about the outstanding photography and that the lead actress is amazing

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

Yes, I didn’t think the film would remain in their brain so much time - it talks to levels that are transcendent, I guess.

Lilith's Awakening

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

We are looking for distribution and sales agents

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

distributors

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

It has already received three awards of excellence by the Iowa Motion Pictures Association and we would like go further.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Can horror films be fairy tales about women’s empowerment? In a society designed to repress feminine desire, the Vampire is associated with lust and evil. As a director, I realized I had the control to tell the classic tale from a women’s perspective.